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The Rockwall County multi-court Rules of Judicial Administration (TRJA Rule 10) and the district courts' administrative rules: fair caseload distribution among the two district courts (382nd, 439th) and two county courts at law, emergency and vacation coverage, and the §74.093(b) requirements — plus the district courts' administrative rule (May 8, 2020) governing assignment of cases docketed with County Court at Law No. 1, and the Administrative Order on court operations.
Texas > Rockwall County > the District Courts and County Courts at Law — the multi-court administration framework (the 503rd District Court was created after these 2020–2023 instruments; they bind the courts as the administrative structure, updated by the judges as needed)
District and County Courts at Law Rockwall County, Texas Rules of Judicial Administration In accordance with Rule 10(b) of the Rules of Judicial Administration related to Multi-Court Counties, and whereas, Rockwall County is served by two District Courts (382nd and 439th) and two County Courts at Law (No. 1 and No. 2), the following is intended to comply with the requirements of Rule 10(c) and to set forth the local rules related to: (1) The fair distribution of caseloads among the judges; (2) Responsibility for caseloads during emergencies; (3) Plans for administration of caseloads during a judge’s vacation, sick leave, or attendance at educational programs or other similar matters; and (4) Requirements of Section 74.093(b) of the Government Code. I. Distribution of Caseloads. (1) The 382nd and 439th District Courts administer all Felony indictments on an equal basis. (2) County Court at Law No. 1 and No. 2 administer all misdemeanor criminal cases on an equal basis. (3) Under Section 25.2012 of the Texas Government Code, the County Courts at Law share concurrent jurisdiction with the District Courts except for (1) cases involving capital murder; (2) suits on behalf of the State to recover penalties or escheated property; (3) misdemeanors involving official misconduct; (4) contested elections. The statute also designates the Local Administrative Judge to assign the categories of cases with concurrent jurisdiction to be administered by the County Courts at Law. After consultation and agreement between the judges, said designation is implemented pursuant to a local Administrative Order. (4) The two District Courts administer all civil cases filed as Level II and above, with amounts in controversy of $50,000 or more, on an equal basis pursuant to local Administrative Order and in accordance with their general jurisdiction. (5) County Court at Law No. 1 and No. 2 equally administer all Level 1 civil cases with amounts in controversy of $50,000 or less pursuant to local Administrative Order and in accordance with their general jurisdiction. (6) Also pursuant to local Administrative Order in an effort to equally and fairly distribute caseloads, the two District Courts and County Court at Law No. 1 equally administer all matters filed pursuant to the Texas Family Code, except for Juvenile matters which are administered through County Court at Law No. 2. County Court at Law No. 1 and the District Courts also act as alternate Juvenile Judges. (7) Also pursuant to Local Administrative Order, as referenced above, and in accordance with their jurisdiction, the County Court at Law No. 1 administers all Probate matters and the County Court at Law No. 2 administers all mental health cases; County Court at Law No. 1 and No. 2 also equally administer all Property Code Tax cases. (8) Administrative Orders referenced above are attached. Also attached is the Rockwall County Standing Order for active Family Law cases, related to children, property, and conduct of parties. Rockwall Courts follow the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Rules of Criminal Procedure, and have adopted no additional specific local rules related thereto. II. Responsibility for Caseloads During Emergencies Because the District Courts and County Courts at Law have concurrent jurisdiction in matters designated by statute through Section 25.2012 of the Texas Government Code, they are able to exchange benches and sit for each other or transfer cases, as specified in Section 25.2012, in the event of the absence of a judge or as a result of a medical emergency. During the recent COVID restrictions, the Rockwall County IT Department issued computers to Judges and staff and developed and supported technological capabilities for communication and continued service from locations other than the courthouse. Rockwall County followed Orders issued by the Texas Supreme Court during COVID and developed plans and policies pursuant thereto, to ensure continued operations of our courts including the use of Zoom and other accommodations. These plans were previously submitted and approved by the Regional Administrative Judge and the Office of Court Administration, and can be utilized again during emergencies, if necessary. III. Vacations, Sick Leave, Educational Programs, etc… During the absence of any Judge related to a vacation, sick leave, education seminars, or other reasons, we are able to either cover dockets sitting for each other as stated above in Section II, or request the Regional Judge to provide a visiting judge. IV. Requirements of Section 74.093(b) – Texas Government Code; Miscellaneous The requirements listed under Section 74.093(b) have been addressed in this plan and through implementation of Administrative Orders, copies of which are attached. Plans related to the Fair Defense Act and Appointment of Counsel for Indigent Defendants are accessible online with the Indigent Defense Task Force as required by law. Approved and Ordered this 22nd day of December 2022; ORIGINAL SIGNED BY BRETT HALL ______________________________ Brett Hall, District Judge, 382nd Judicial District Court ORIGINAL SIGNED BY J. BRIAN WILLIAMS ______________________________ J. Brian Williams, Judge, County Court at Law No. 1 ORIGINAL SIGNED BY DAVID E. RAKOW ______________________________ David E. Rakow, District Judge, 439th Judicial District Court ORIGINAL SIGNED BY STEPHANI WOODWARD _______________________________ Stephani Woodward, Judge, County Court at Law No 2
Reviewer note: Three registered administration instruments composed as one rule (text layers); they predate the 503rd District Court's creation (naming the 382nd/439th and CCL 1/2) — recorded as the county's administrative framework binding the courts as institutions; custody sha256s in the registry ledger (docs 514, 517, 515); the county posts a newer Administrative Order (Dec. 1, 2025, own-site DocumentCenter/View/14246) extending CCL-assignment coverage to both County Courts at Law No. 1 and No. 2 under Government Code sections 74.092(1) and 25.2012(f)-(g) — the current edition of the CCL-assignment layer, superseding the May 2020 CCL1-only rule (doc 517). [RECOMPOSED 2026-09-21 (corpus-0920 P7, digital-layer lane): the full text of the registered file (sha256 4250aaf0f6e3..., 2 pages) replaces the earlier 1,139-character abstract. Method: pypdfium2 text layer reflowed page-aware, cross-checked word-by-word against PyMuPDF (0 substantive difference(s), 0 page-furniture), owner-corpus candidate sentences 100% (1/1) matched, 0 running header/footer line(s) removed, no U+FFFD/U+FFFE/form-feed debris. NOT yet checked page by page against the render, so confidence is medium with an open re-verification task; flip to high when a reviewer has read every page against the PDF. benchpath-tx-corpus0920-p7-2026-09-21] [BY-EYE CHECK 2026-09-21 (corpus-0920 P11): every page of the registered file (sha256 4250aaf0f6e3..., 2 page(s)) read against the rendered PDF; file-stamp, caption and signature-block defects of the text layer corrected from the render; confidence lifted to high. benchpath-tx-corpus0920-p11-2026-09-21]
Division XI: information forms for data processing (Rule 11.2); required action - action taken on all calendared cases and a future date always set (Rule 11.19); and pro tem judges - an attorney named as a plaintiff in a civil or small claims case may not sit as a judge pro-tem during the case or within six months following its resolution, nor one named as a defendant in two or more such cases (Rule 11.22). Rules 11.1, 11.3 to 11.5, 11.7 to 11.18, 11.20 and 11.21 are repealed, and Rule 11.6 (voluntary arbitration; see Local Rule 10.2) was repealed and renumbered.
Duval County's indigent-defense and magistration rules under the Texas Fair Defense Act (S.B. 7): who may be booked into the county jail and on what paper; arrest-case numbering; presentment to a magistrate within 48 hours (art. 15.16); the magistrate's warnings, counsel inquiry, interpreter duty, indigence determination and appointment of counsel within 24 hours of a request; the alternative appointment plan under art. 26.04(g)-(h) with annual applications, seven attorney categories (capital, first and second degree, third degree/state jail/misdemeanor, competency, appeals, post-conviction, extradition), CLE and experience standards, random rotation within each category, written acceptance within 48 hours, first contact by the end of the next working day, replacement and suspension of counsel, fee applications within five days of completing services and the compensation attachment ($500 pleas; $175/$150 hourly; $1,400 per jury-trial day; appellate caps); bail schedules by offense class with a personal bond office (fee $20 or 3%), pre-trial supervision and revocation hearings within two working days; arraignment settings and notice; repeal of conflicting rules.